


Gemini Rising: Conflict of Duty

by dsa_archivist



Category: due South
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-05-14
Updated: 1999-05-14
Packaged: 2018-11-11 02:43:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11139543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dsa_archivist/pseuds/dsa_archivist
Summary: This story is a sequel toGemini Rising: Resurrection.





	Gemini Rising: Conflict of Duty

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Speranza, the archivist: this story was once archived at [Due South Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Due_South_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Due South Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/duesoutharchive).

 

 

Gemini Rising 6

##  Gemini Rising VI:

##   Conflict of Duty

 by Red Skye  
 =========================  
   
 This story is a sequel to Gemini Rising V: Resurrection.  
 Note:  
Where you see =Text bracketed in this way= it indicates a characters  
 thoughts.  
 NSA = National Security Agency.  
   
  *=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*  
   
  Welsh flung open the door of the interrogation chamber, and  
roared  
 "Enough" startling both Ray and the stubborn 'Suits' who were  
badgering the  
 desperately tired man.  
  "Vecchio, you're free to go."  
  "Butt out Lieutenant, or I'll have you busted back to.."  
   
"I've had enough of your crap. You picked the wrong officer to crucify  
-  
 he's got friends in all the right places to get *you* busted  
back to Cadet,  
 Mister. Friends in high place's he and the Mountie made by  
solving crimes,  
 saving lives and busting the bad guys - and unless you have  
an agenda which  
 includes rendering months worth of data he's gathered while  
he was  
 undercover worthless - You will not only back off but drop  
this whole  
 farcical investigation. He's already told you more times than  
I can count,  
 he doesn't know anything about the J'Fa."  
  "He's lying."  
  "You can't expect us to swallow the line he's been feeding  
us about  
 knowing nothing, when he's in so tight with the J'Fa's leaders  
that the  
 Mafia called off a hit on the Mountie when Gemini's Major Domo  
bared his  
 fang's."  
  "We're you listening when I told you the reason he's in so  
tight with that  
 pair is..."  
  The exhausted Ray dropped his head in his hands, and wished  
his head would  
 stop throbbing as Welsh and the Feds snarled and growled at  
each other.  
  -There is no justice in this world- He thought. Then it hit  
him like a  
 sledge hammer and he bolted upright, eyes wide.  
  =That's what J'Fa means... =  
  He surreptitiously looked at the suits who had focussed all  
their  
 attention on Welsh. He almost laughed. May have if he hadn't  
been so  
 exhausted.  
  He crossed his arms on the table and let his head fall to  
rest on them.  
 The *discussion* between Welsh and the suits ended and they  
looked around  
 as Ray's snores filled the air.  
   
  *=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*  
   
  Fraser watched Ray moving through the shadowed path's of the  
park and  
 knelt down by Deifenbaker to pet him and instruct him to scout  
the area.  
 With a woof, the wolf was off and Fraser stood to step back  
into the  
 shadows as Ray neared.  
  "That you Benni?"  
  "Yes, Armando."  
  "I've already scouted around, Benni, this pace is deserted  
except for a  
 pair of fool hardy teens up to some heavy petting by the statue."  
  "It never hurts to be cautious."  
  "Truer words were never spoken."  
  There was an awkward silence that dragged on till Fraser broke  
it.  
  "I was under the impression, you were going to be charged.."  
  "They tried every dirty trick in the book to get me to recant  
my story,  
 but nothing worked, and thanks to you, sticking to yours. They  
had no  
 choice but to back off."  
  "What happens now?"  
  "Now.. I go back to being Armando again.. If my cover wasn't  
blown."  
  "And as far as I know - they did nothing to blow it."  
  "Good.. Good.. Did you get the message I sent you through  
the mail?"  
  "Yes.. And the key. I collected the disks as you instructed  
me to."  
  "What did you do with them?"  
  "I thought it was prudent to wait and see what happened before  
I handed  
 them over to anyone."  
  "Good. I hope you found a safe place to stash them in the  
mean time."  
  "If that's all you wanted to know.."  
  "No... No.. I had to see you before.. went back.. Benny, they  
know what we  
 did in that Hotel suite, they know about.. our conversation,  
about what we  
 did.."  
  "I am aware of that Ray."  
  "They've got the whole damn thing on tape."  
  "I've seen.. an edited version of it."  
  "I saw the unedited version," Ray said with a little shudder.  
  "It made me sick.."  
  With startling suddenness Fraser pulled Ray into his arms  
and kissed him,  
 thoroughly. Ray struggled at first, but once it was clear Fraser  
meant  
 business, he relaxed and let himself enjoy it.  
  When it was over, Fraser released him and caressed his face.  
  "Good bye, Ray."  
  Ray didn't like the way Fraser said that, but before he could  
express his  
 misgiving's Fraser had spun on his heel and strode away. Gathering  
his  
 scattered wits about him Ray ran after him, but Fraser broke  
into a run  
 easily outdistancing him and just as Ray broke his own personal  
best sprint  
 record and began to think he'd catch up with the Mountie, A  
figure emerged  
 from the shadows behind him, striking quickly, and efficiently  
to drag him  
 into a stand of brush and pulled him down to the ground. Terror  
flooded  
 Ray's system as he felt the hot breath of his captor on his  
throat, then,  
 pure relief followed as he heard Doug's Voice.  
  "It's me.. Listen up, you were set up - they wired your friend.."  
  Ray struggled to roll over as his cry of "What?!!" was muffled  
by the  
 strong hand over his mouth.  
  "You think they gave up. They haven't even started yet," Doug  
declared.  
  The hand over his mouth, and the weight on his back was removed  
and he  
 rolled over to look up at Doug in the dim light.  
  "They wired Fraser?!" Ray hissed, disbelieving.  
  "They've got the means to destroy his career in their hot  
little hands.  
 And used it to get him to agree to it, but, well.. I don't  
have to tell you  
 what he decided meant more to him when it came to the crunch."  
  "How did he get a message to you without them..."  
  "He got into my computer when I left the room.. And after  
I caught him..  
 He typed up a message telling me they'd wired him, and threatened  
to jail  
 him if he didn't cooperate."  
  "I have to stop underestimating that man."  
  "You're not the only one who underestimate him.. So did they.  
My bet is  
 that you won't get far before they descend on you to take you  
back into  
 custody.. So I'll make this quick. I know what they're going  
to be  
 interrogating you about, what they want to know, answer their  
questions,  
 honestly, to the best of your ability, and demand that they  
use a lie  
 detector."  
  "Doug.. You don't know what they.."  
  "They want to know who Gemini is.. They think you know. Tell  
them what you  
 know. And when they start pestering you about me, make sure  
you bring up  
 the fact, I'm the one Mac framed who was knifed to death in  
the prison I  
 shouldn't have been sent to in the first place.."  
  "Yeah, right," Ray sneered.  
  Even in the dim light it was easy to see the look of surprise  
that  
 appeared on Doug's face.  
  "I know all about the dirty tricks you and your brother used  
to pull.. I  
 shoulda guessed what was going on.. There was a time I used  
to think you  
 were schizoid."  
  "Who.."  
  "You're not as smart as you think you are. Someone found enough  
proof to  
 guess what happened and witnesses to confirm their guesses."  
  "I can explain."  
  "I bet it was a real big laugh, playing the old switcheroo  
trick on me all  
 the time, Dougie, or should I call you Damon, seeing as how  
it is your  
 name."  
  "Actually it's both, I *am* Douglas, but I became Damon..  
After he took my  
 place in prison, and died there. He wasn't supposed to be there  
long.. They  
 told me about the investigation into Mac's activities.. Said,  
he'd be out  
 in no time.. That they'd ensure he got citizenship.. If I did  
what they  
 wanted.."  
  That put an end to Ray's rant.  
  "He got it.. Too late to do anything with it.. And they thought  
it was  
 better if I took his place.. Became Damon, let everyone think  
I had died in  
 prison.  
  "Who's *They*?"  
  "I can't tell you that."  
  "You really are a deep cover agent for someone?"  
  Doug nodded.  
  "And you can't tell me who?"  
  "No."  
  "And all the things they said about you.. The murders and.."  
  "Fake records, lies, half truths and exaggerations."  
  "And Gemini???"  
  "Don't ask questions you're smart enough to know I can't answer."  
  Ray nodded slowly.  
  "Now if I'm right, and the pounce and drag you back for interrogation,  
 when they're interrogating you and insinuating you've gone  
bad, ask them a  
 question - What makes you think we'd trust a cop. Especially  
one we're well  
 aware is working under cover to gather evidence on organised  
crime  
 syndicates."  
  "I've already said that so many times I lost count."  
  "Say it again and if they can't their heads, and decide to  
take you down  
 regardless, we'll teach them what JFA stands for."  
  "Justice for all."  
  Doug gave a soft laugh and began an aborted move to touch  
Ray's face.  
  "No one can say you were born yesterday."  
  "If you're right.. They're not going to give up easily, I  
don't think you  
 want me to answer some of the questions they've asked dishonestly.  
They  
 want to know all about your escape routes, Sheba, they were  
even grilling  
 me about Solomon Bellettini-Knight. Going on about the Callegnini  
Vault  
 being loaded with stolen property, about your place going up  
in flames..."  
   
  ======*======  
   
  Douglas was proved right 15 minutes after he parted company  
with Ray, Ray  
 was pounced on by the suits and dragged off to be interrogated  
again. 12  
 hours and countless lie detector tests later, it was still  
on going. When  
 he answered questions, he answered them honestly. But it was  
his refusal to  
 answer certain questions that got him into deeper trouble and  
it was those  
 questions he was grilled about, over and over.  
  Where was he on this night? Who was he with on that night?  
What do you  
 know about the Bellettini-Knight murder? What do you know about  
the  
 Callegnini Vault? Bellettini-Knight was a known IRA sympathiser,  
did Knight  
 share his father's sympathies. On and on it went.  
   
  ======*======  
   
  Welsh was trying to find a way to get the FBI men off Ray's  
back in his  
 office when the sound of silence registered. He couldn't remember  
the last  
 time he'd heard so little coming from the area his office bordered.  
He was  
 about to rise to find out why when his door opened and the  
Kowlaski  
 entered, with two muscle bound men in black on his  
heels.  
  Welsh rose to his feet as Kowlaski closed the door.  
  "Sorry for the interruption, Sir, but these men are here about  
Vecchio."  
  Two leather I.D cases landed on his desk, tossed there by  
the other two  
 MIB's. He picked them up and looked at them his eyes widening  
as he saw  
 their official I.D cards and Badges.  
  =Oh great just what I need, *another* bureau coming down on  
my head over  
 Vecchio=  
  "NSA... What does the NSA want with Vecchio?"  
  "It came to our attention that he was investigating the back  
ground of one  
 Douglas Bellettini-Montray and his twin, Damon."  
  Welsh glanced at Kowlaski.  
  "We'd like to see the information collected by Detective Kowlaski,  
in  
 Vecchio's name."  
  =Good god, it's not just the FBI who want him, it's the NSA  
too.. How the  
 hell am I going to get Vecchio out of this mess?=  
   
  ======*======  
   
  Three hours later all the records Kowlaski collected were  
shredded and  
 incinerated. All the computer records were erased, and they  
were sworn to  
 secrecy, in the interests of national security.  
  Fifteen minutes after that, Welsh had the pleasure of following  
the NSA  
 agents to the local branch of the FBI where they were taken  
to an  
 interrogation room. It was with great pleasure Welsh watched  
the FBI men  
 blanch when the NSA men flashed their badges and threatened  
them with  
 expulsion if they didn't drop their harassment of officer Vecchio.  
  The FBI agents blustered about him being a cop gone bad. The  
NSA men asked  
 them to supply evidence of the fact that would be *admissable*  
in court to  
 supply proof. The FBI men opened a file and scattered pornographic  
pictures  
 over the table top. One of the NSA men pulled out a lighter  
and picked up a  
 photo setting it alight before tossing it back on the table  
to set the rest  
 alight much to the FBI men's shock. It also roused Ray who  
jumped to his  
 feet.  
  "I said show us something that would be admissible in court,  
that means  
 evidence that wasn't supplied by Alessandro Conti."  
  "Who?"  
  "He's an assassin who was on the Don's payroll," Ray supplied.  
  The FBI men looked at him.  
  "He's got a grudge against, Damon, the Don and I. He wants  
to hurt all of  
 us. He hurts Damon, by setting up Fraser, he hurts me by setting  
me up to  
 take a fall, and god only knows what he's got in store for  
the Don. He  
 already tried once, put me in the hospital with explosives,  
destroyed the  
 Don's home, the same way.. and faked his death to make us lower  
our guard."  
  "How do you know he supplied it?"  
  "Because some of your fellow agents cut a deal with him, to  
try and take  
 down Damon Knight, and in the process let a psycho who makes  
Knight look  
 like a proverbial angel in comparison back on the streets."  
  =Stick the knife in and twist it= Ray thought gleefully.  
   
"But never mind, we've got men out hunting him down even as we speak.  
He  
 won't stay free much longer."  
  "Wether or not he collected the evidence, it's still damning."  
  "Well of course it is.. He made sure of that, and even manufactured  
some  
 of it."  
  "Such as?"  
  "The photo's of Knight killing the Drug pusher."  
  "How do you.."  
  "If you study the two pictures it's rather obvious the man  
in the later  
 pictures is not the same as the man in the first two. The clothing  
is  
 different, are you suggesting he ever so kindly asked the man  
he *intended*  
 to kill to wait while he changed into different attire."  
   
The FBI men looked as foolish as they should have.  
  "Knight - Damon & Sheba both are *trained* Ninja Assassins,  
who on a scale  
 of one to ten, rate a ten for lethality, Alessandro rates a  
3, deprive him  
 of his weapons, and he's still dangerous, deprive Damon or  
his wife of  
 their weapons, and they're still lethal. And as for Alessandro,  
he's small  
 potatoes.. Damon & Sheba between them have contacts within  
the Mafia,  
 Yakuza and IRA, and we have an opportunity to gather information  
about  
 their methods from *the inside* that you in your eagerness  
to persecute an  
 innocent man have come this close to depriving us of," the  
more senior of  
 the NSA agents said making a tiny gesture.  
  "He's guilty of colluding with.." one of the suits blustered.  
  "He's guilty of doing what he had to do, to survive. Damon  
Knight *knew*  
 who he was. We've interrogated the Mountie.. We know what he's  
told  
 Vecchio.. What a pack of lies he's told, what a web of deceit  
he's  
 practiced to place Vecchio in exactly the position he's in.  
He wouldn't be  
 the first cop Knight's done it too.. But he would be the first  
we were able  
 to identify before it was far too late."  
  =Oh great, just great, out of the frying pan into the fire=  
  "What do you say, Detective, how would you like a chance to  
serve your  
 country, by helping us gather enough evidence to put Knight  
and his wife  
 away for the rest of their miserable lives?"  
   
  ======*======  
   
  Five minutes later, Ray was bundled into biker's leathers  
and a helmet and  
 marched out of the station, to climb onto the bike he'd been  
informed was  
 out there for him to use.  
  20 minutes later he sat on the back of the bike in an abandoned  
warehouse,  
 watching Doug clap the MIB's on the back, before they climbed  
into their  
 car and departed. He watched Doug approach with a grin.  
   
"You Bastard," Ray growled without heat.  
  "Surprise."  
  "I'll say. Why didn't you just tell me you were with the NSA."  
  "I couldn't do that. Not without the permission of my superiors  
and I had  
 to convince them to act to get you out of the grave that Alessandro  
dug for  
 you. It took time to do that."  
  "Who else knows?"  
  "There is no one else outside the NSA who knows."  
  "Not even Sheba?"  
  "She thinks I'm Damon."  
  "She couldn't tell the difference?"  
  "Could you?"  
  "Like I said there were times I thought you were schizoid.  
You and your  
 brother might have been identical but there were noticeable  
personality  
 differences."  
  "Oh."  
  "For one thing.. He's the reason I never did anything about  
my attraction  
 to you in the past."  
  "Really."  
  "I acted on it - once - and he rejected my advances."  
  "Was that before or after the academy?"  
  "Before.. I was going to say the last time I saw you before  
I ran into you  
 at the academy."  
  "That's why you never came back, you made a pass at him, that  
he  
 rejected.. forcibly, and it put you right off."  
  "Basically. It used to drive me nuts.. Getting crossed signals  
off you all  
 the time. I decided to just ignore it, until.. you finally  
made the first  
 move."  
  Then it occoured to him to question who made it.  
  "Or was it you???"  
  "Oh, it was me."  
  "So why did he leave?"  
  "We had a fight, about you and the threat you posed to him."  
  "So why did he agree to take your place in prison? Or did  
you already  
 answer that?"  
  "The NSA knew about him.. They never told me how they found  
out, just that  
 they knew about him.. They approached him, with the offer of  
helping him  
 become an American citizen if he helped them.. But he told  
them to go to  
 hell."  
  "What made him change his mind?"  
  "They brought him to the hospital, where I was recovering  
from the knife  
 attack, and gave him a choice, take my place and pretend to  
be me long  
 enough for me to fully recover and carry out the mission they  
wanted him to  
 carry out or be deported back to Italy in a blaze of publicity."  
  "Damned if he did, damned if he didn't."  
  "Basically. They swore he wouldn't be there long, told me  
about the  
 investigation into Mac's activities, how it was only a matter  
of time  
 before my conviction was over turned and he'd be out, free  
and clear to  
 start a new life."  
  "What did they want you to do?"  
  "You don't want to know."  
  =As if I couldn't guess=  
  "Did you get Fraser off the hook too?"  
  "They have nothing they can use against him. My spies tell  
me he told them  
 to shove it, to go ahead and arrest him and walked out. Wether  
or not they  
 make another move against him is something only time will tell.  
   
    *=-=-=-=-=-=*======*======*=-=-=-=-=-=*  
   
  The End - For Now.  
  Standard disclaimers apply.  
  Copyright February 24, 1998 Red Skye.  
   
 

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